'Hollyoaks': Lucy Dixon talks Tilly, Esther and new 'Later' series

Hollyoaks fans can expect testing times for Tilly Evans's relationship with Esther Bloom this week.

Just as the couple are planning to spend the night together for the first time, Esther's grandmother Frankie starts to interfere, fearing that their romance is moving too quickly.

Here, Lucy Dixon - who plays Tilly - chats to Digital Spy about the storyline and what else is coming up for her character.

Are you pleased that Tilly and Esther have finally got together?"I am! People might remember that Tilly was introduced to the show in a special week in Abersoch in 2011. That's when she first met Esther and they had a summer romance. It was all very lovely, but then Tilly was supposed to be moving back down to London and didn't want to take it any further as she thought they wouldn't see each other again.

"We got a lot of interest from the fans through that week, which was really nice. To get so much attention from my first week on screen was brilliant. When Tilly and Esther finally got together second time round, it was great because the people who tweeted us in 2011 got back in touch, saying that they love the relationship and they hope it lasts."

Did you always expect that the Tilly and Esther dynamic would be revisited?"Like the audience, I was in the dark and I wasn't sure! When I was filming my scenes with Amy Downham who played Jen, I didn't have a clue what would happen next. Even when it came to the Tilly and Jen relationship, I really wasn't sure which path they wanted to take with it.

"However, while all that was happening, I did still keep having odd scenes with Jazz [Franks, who plays Esther]. The two characters have always been quite close and there's always been something there. Particularly when Tilly was going through her heartbreak with Jen, Esther was there for her."

What can we expect this week when Frankie starts to interfere?"Tilly is a little bit frustrated by that. The relationship has been such a slow-burner, but now it's really forming into something as they're official now. They're just about to have a passionate, romantic night together as Ruby has snuck them upstairs to The Dog flat, when Frankie bursts in. Tilly is a little bit annoyed to say the least, and especially so when Frankie wants to split them up. But you'll have to wait and see whether Tilly and Esther can make it through this…"

It's been announced that you'll be in Hollyoaks Later this year. Are you excited about it?"Massively! When I found out, I was literally jumping for joy. I used to watch Hollyoaks before I was in it, and I remember watching the Later series with Steph Dean's cliff-top showdown. I also watched last year's which was all to do with Brendan and Cheryl's pasts.

"Watching it at the time, I was thinking, 'I wish I was in Hollyoaks Later because it looks incredible!' The camera, the writing and the locations are all brilliant. I can't give too much away, but the scripts this year are fantastic."

Have you started filming it yet?"My strand hasn't started yet, so I'm really excited to get going on it! It's going to be brilliant and I can't wait for the fans to see it. You'll get to see a different side of all the characters involved, so it's going to be very exciting."

A lot of fans seem keen to see more of Tilly! Does she have some busy times ahead?"I hope so! I've been getting a lot of tweets about that, and it's lovely to hear that people miss you when you're not on screen. I think the fans will be happy with what's coming up. When I received the scripts for what I'm currently filming - which will be on screen around September or October - I had a really big smile on my face. There's some great stuff coming up and it's going to be a different side of Tilly that people haven't seen yet."

The Jen/Tilly - aka 'Jelly' - relationship had a big reaction. Are you proud of the impact it had?"I'm hugely proud. I almost can't believe it myself. There are so many people who really invested in the Jen and Tilly relationship and I even get people tweeting me today saying, 'I wish Jen could come back!' and 'I was gutted with how it ended!'

"Some people are really vocal about it and they don't think Tilly should be with Esther. There are fans who think Jen should come back and have a wonderful romance with Tilly again. It's so sweet that people did invest so much time in it, because that's your goal as an actress. Myself and Amy were over the moon with the reactions we had from everybody.

"Unfortunately, the relationship was illegal because Jen was Tilly's teacher. Because of that, the producer and the writers were very careful with how the story arc went. We had to show the relationship turn sour, because ultimately they couldn't be together forever."

Has life changed much on set since so many of the sixth formers left last year?"It's definitely a lot quieter now that the sixth formers aren't there! There would always be at least seven or eight of us all filming together every day, which meant there was a real buzz and energy. Now there's usually two or three of us, so it has been a big change and a big difference.

"But it has been exciting, because Tilly has stepped up a gear and we're going to see her move onto other storylines and interact with different people. I do miss the guys so much and I caught up with some of them recently. It was great to see them, because we all get along so well together."

Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 6.30pm on Channel 4, with first look screenings at 7pm on E4.

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